Tell it to Janus

Right now Resolutions are evaporating as quickly as they were made. Resolutions, the New Year's kind, fade promptly but resolve lasts. With that in mind a brief look at a common college course might prove inspiring.

If you haven't taken Intro to Mythology yet here's a quick overview. Western Civilization is permeated with references to ancient gods, goddesses, demi-gods, semi-gods, deities and entities. For example the days of the week contain the names of Norse and Roman gods and the months of the year still retain a few other Roman gods' names, most notably Mars, March and Janus, January. In ancient times Janus was the go-to Deity for beginnings. Hence the first month of the year remains named in honor of him. Janus is pictured as having two faces, one looking back and one looking forward. In that distant past Roman believers seeking a blessing for an undertaking went to the temple of Janus. For an offering they obtained a key to the locked temple door from the priest. The key opened the entryway. Upon entering the seeker walked to the statue of Janus and made their entreaty. They then walked to the rear door of the temple and using the same key they unlocked that door and made their exit.

There are two significant points in this simple tale. First, Janus has two faces, watching the past as well as the future. Second, the same key opened the exit as well as the entrance. From these symbolic facts we can conclude a simple and profound lesson. The past is the key to the future. Your past is the key to your future. During this month of Janus, with a fresh start at hand, it seems wise to pause and reflect. A look at your past will tell what has been. A brief glance, no need to linger, should suffice. Has what you've been doing helped you toward your goal? For an Average Student on Planet College, for the most part yes, but, in some ways, no. You can probably sort out quickly what has worked and what hasn't.

This quick survey of your past is the key to your future.

Happy New Year From Planet College.